Johnson went on, clearly talking about the game was fun to him , so he continued, as he spoke excitement crept into his voice.
"The maze is filled with lowkey hunters " Johnson said. "AI enemies that patrol the corridors. Some are dumb. Some are smart. And some…" He paused for effect, a faint grin tugging at his lips. "Some learn." He finally said .
"Learn?" Sarah said , her voice echoed with confusion .
At first, she hadn't been interested. Johnson had been talking nonstop, and honestly, she had assumed this was just another one of those conversations boys always had, video games, tactics, imaginary worlds that had nothing to do with real life. Boys' stuff. That was what she'd thought.
But the word learn made her slow her steps.what if the game was up to something ... she had to know .
Johnson continued, oblivious to the shift. "Yeah. They adapt. If you take the same route too often, they start cutting you off. If you hide too much, they figure it out and flush you from your safe spots. The better you perform, the more aggressive they become. They react to the way you play."
He chuckled softly. "It makes every run harder. Unpredictable."
Sarah frowned slightly, her thoughts drifting despite herself.
Maybe this so-called game could help us, she thought. Maybe it could teach us a way out of this stage…
"That sounds unfair," Fai muttered.
He had been listening quietly, piecing things together as Johnson spoke. From what he understood, the better you did in the game, the more you won, the more skilled you became,the harder the game punished you for it.
Which meant that every victory only made the next attempt worse.Each run demanded a new plan. A new approach. No repeating old tricks.
Johnson laughed at Fai's comment. "Exactly. That's what made it fun."Sarah shot him a sideways glance. "Your definition of fun is… questionable."
"I mean, following your logic," Fai said slowly, "it would be fun at first. But what happens when you've won enough times? When you've tried every trick you have? The game becomes unwinnable, right?"
"Yeah!" Johnson said immediately, his enthusiasm spiking when he realized both of them were actually paying attention now. "That's the point."
Fai frowned. "I don't think people would keep playing at that level. If it's unwinnable, what's the point?, I mean games are fun when hard ...but when it's impossible to win , what's the use "
Johnson opened his mouth to reply..but before he could, the narration itself seemed to intrude, as if the truth of the matter demanded explanation.
The game,GTT...was actually perfect.
Yes. Perfect.
But perfect meant different things to different people.
GTT wasn't designed for entertainment alone. It had been developed and sponsored by the military.
Their reasoning was simple.
They knew not every kid dreamed of becoming a mutated hunter. Not everyone had the will,or the stomach..for direct combat. But wars weren't won by brute strength alone.
Some people were born to think differently.
They wanted to find those people.
The ones who would reach the unwinnable stage of the game… and still keep playing. The ones who would fail again and again, yet refuse to quit. The ones who would adapt even when adaptation seemed impossible.
They were searching for war strategists.
Because not everyone was made to fight on the front lines. Some were meant to pull the strings from behind, to see patterns others missed, to turn hopeless situations into victories through sheer intellect.
Did the military find what they were looking for?That… was top secret.Even for me.
"Hey, nobody forced anyone to play it," Johnson said defensively, as if arguing with an invisible audience. "But millions did."
He paused, then added proudly, "That alone should tell you how good it was."Fai didn't respond. He was quiet now, listening intently.
"So," Sarah said after a moment, "all you had to do was run? Stay away from the AI and reach the exit before time runs out?"
"Just run?"
"Nope," Johnson replied, shaking his head. "You collect Trial Marks scattered throughout the maze. Those marks let you buy extra time. The more you collect, the better your chances of unlocking the exit."
"And the ghosts?" Fai pressed. "Don't tell me the word ghost was just for show."
Johnson grinned.
"Actually,the ghost are the Ais " he said .
" But that's not the fun part."
He raised a finger. "Every once in a while, you find something called a Dominion Node. If you have enough Trial Marks, you can activate it. And for a short time…"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"…the rules flip."
Sarah frowned. "Flip?.... how?"
"Yeah," Fai added. "What do you mean by flip?"
"The ghosts stop hunting you," Johnson said calmly. "And now you can hunt them."
Fai's eyes narrowed slightly, he didn't even remember Johnson saying before that you couldn't hunt them back , or was there something he missed ? ...it seems like this game was complicated than what it seemed.
"Buts that's only For a limited time," Johnson continued, "Dominion Nodes are expensive. Rare too. Most players don't even bother activating them. They'd rather spend their Trial Marks on extra time."
He shrugged. "But if you activate one properly, you get faster. Stronger. And You can eliminate the ghosts. The AI units."
"So they're expensive," Sarah said quietly, already seeing the problem, "and they don't last."
Johnson snapped his fingers. "Exactly. Their effect always runs out. And when it does…"
He made a slicing motion across his throat.
"…you'd better not still be in the wrong corridor."
Silence fell.But this time, it was heavier than before.
"Chill, guys," Johnson said quickly, forcing a laugh. "It's only a game."
But Fai wasn't listening.
He glanced around the maze.
Suddenly, the long corridors didn't feel empty anymore.
They felt… watchful.
The walls seemed closer than before. The shadows deeper. As if something unseen lingered just beyond his vision, waiting.
"So let me guess," Fai said slowly. "The later the stage, the harder it gets."
Johnson nodded. "Something like that, yeah."
Sarah stopped walking.
Johnson and Fai halted instinctively.
She turned fully now, her expression serious. "The maze changes?"
"In the game?" Johnson asked. "Yeah. Why?"
Sarah scanned the walls, then looked up, then glanced back at the corridor behind them.
"…Nothing," she said after a moment. "Just asking."
They resumed walking.
Johnson continued, though his voice was quieter now. "The thing about GTT was that the best players weren't the strongest. Or the fastest."
Fai glanced at him. "Then who were ?"
"The ones who understood the maze," Johnson replied. "Who realized it wasn't about fighting or running. It was about decision-making under pressure."
Sarah nodded faintly. "Choosing the right path."
"Exactly," Johnson said. "Sometimes the shortest route gets you killed. Sometimes the long way saves your life. Sometimes standing still is the worst choice you can make."
He took a breath.
"And here's the part everyone remembers," he added. "Before every run, a message popped up on the screen."
He cleared his throat and recited it from memory.
"'This is not a game.
You will fail.
You will die.
But survive.'"
Neither Fai nor Sarah spoke.The words lingered in the air.
"…That's messed up,even for a game " Fai finally said.
But something stirred inside him.A memory.
A quest.Johnson smiled faintly. "Yeah. But people loved it."
Sarah broke the silence. "And you think this maze is like that game?"
Johnson shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I'm just saying....it reminds me of it."
He glanced around once more. "We've got a maze. A time limit. An exit we haven't seen. And rules we have to follow."
He chuckled softly. "Feels familiar."
Fai didn't respond immediately.
'This feels like the game, huh? 'he thought.
And that thought sounded so familiar to him . But at least now he understood one thing , this might seem like a Game , but ...This was reality.
Fai tightened his grip and looked ahead, eyes sharp, jaw clenched.
It doesn't matter, he thought. Game or reality…
I'm making it through this.
His determination burned through his knuckles as they pressed forward into the maze.
***********
Hi guys , hope you enjoyed reading , I made this chapter longer than usual as a new year gift , yeah I know it's late , but they say better late than never right??
Have a blessed NEW YEAR